Ever wondered how to make sriracha at home? This homemade Sriracha recipe will teach you just that. Fact is. Making sriracha is super easy and anyone can prepare sriracha with minimum effort and equipment.
WHAT IS SRIRACHA?
Sriracha is a Lacto-fermented spicy condiment. Think ketchup. Asian ketchup. Spicy and made with chillies instead of tomatoes. I pour it over most things Asian and sometimes even European.
Go ahead.
Pour it over whatever it is that tickles your fancy.
IS IT EASY TO MAKE SRIRACHA SAUCE?
Ferment some chillies and garlic and you're done. The end. That's how simple this sriracha recipe is. At least in my mind)
No, Really. It is. Let's have a look at this easy recipe for sriracha sauce.
THE PROCESS OF MAKING SRIRACHA
Fermentation
Fermentation is a process where a food is turned from one form into another by means of microbes in order to make it more desirable.
That is the shortest least scientific way to describe fermentation.
We have gazillions of different microbes each doing their own thing. Some dangerous and some not. Some desirable and some not.
Similar to humans in actual fact. Wouldn't you agree?
The microbe we are interested in is Lactobacillus. Lactic acid-producing bacteria.
In order to harness its beneficial effect, we need to provide it with a comfy safe home to live in where no dangerous bacteria will bother it.
What does lactobacillus like?
- Salt
- Acid
- Lack of oxygen
That is a pretty easy environment to provide. We will look at how to do that in the steps to follow.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO MAKE THIS SRIRACHA RECIPE
Chillies - Red spicy as you like. No blemished or rotten chillies please.
Garlic - Only nice fresh REAL garlic. None of that Chinese easy-peel crap, please. It looks like garlic but it tastes like the crap. Don't do it.
Salt - Non iodised natural sea salt is what I use. By that I mean I actually went and took the salt from a salt-pan in South Africa on the West Coast. I don't suggest you go through all that trouble. Just use nice clean natural salt.
Sugar - Just regular granulated sugar is good.
Vinegar - I use rice vinegar but you could go for apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar too. Just don't use a harsh vinegar.
Water - Clean drinkable water. Tap water if it's good in your region.
HOW TO MAKE SRIRACHA?
We start by deciding how hot we want our sriracha sauce to be. In this recipe I used Jalapeños. The original uses Serrano chillies, which can be a lot hotter than the average jalapeños.
Use whichever you like depending on how hot you like it and how easy it is for you to do handstands in the shower.
1st step - Make sure you have a clean glass jar with or without a lid. Next, you will wash your chillies and garlic under cold running water. Measure out all the ingredients you need.
Safety Note
**I trust you do but, make sure your hands, environment and utensils are thoroughly cleaned before you start doing this. We don't want nasty bacteria getting into the sauce.
2nd step - Remove the stalks from the chillies. Chop them up into smaller pieces. Seeds-and-all. Clean and chop the garlic finely.
3rd step - Place all the ingredients into a jug blender or container. Blend as smooth as you could get it.
4th step - Pour the liquid into the glass jar where it will be fermenting. Next, we need to make sure the sauce is sealed off from the outside air.
Place a piece of plastic wrap or steamed cabbage leaf directly onto the mix.
Place a small weight on top of that to make sure it all stays submerged and the dry particles don't float to the top. Close the container with an airlock, lid or rubber glove with a small hole pricked in one of the fingers.
This is to make sure no air comes in while gas can slowly escape.
If you close it with a lid you will have to let out the air manually every few days or so.
Alternatively:
If you have a vacuum machine at home. Vac Pac the mix in a double sealed bag. That's the way I do it in my professional kitchen.
It's clean, easy and reliably keeps the air out. You also know how the ferment is progressing by looking at the bag inflating.
Fermentation gives off gas, which brings us to the final step. Waiting and babysitting.
5th step - Try and ferment at room temperature. About 21C. colder and the ferment will take longer. Hotter and the ferment will take quicker. Too cold(below 10C and it will ferment forever(almost). Too hot, above 28C, fermentation will be too quick and produce unwanted flavours.
Check your sriracha after 3 days. Taste it with a clean spoon. It should begin to sour. Let it ferment until you are happy with the sourness.
Each to their own.
Remember to burp(let out air) the container every few days if you are using a lid. We don't want chilli bombs.
HOW TO STORE SRIRACHA?
When done fermenting pour into glass bottles. Close tightly and store in the fridge. Do not leave out at room temperature as it is an unpasteurised ferment and it will continue fermenting and cause bottles to explode if left to do so.
WHAT TO HAVE WITH SRIRACHA?
Perfect to spice anything up. Try it with this crispy pork belly, fried steak, Thai omelette or simply with some steamed or fried broccoli or bok choy.
Easily add to duck stir fry or something rich and creamy like mashed potatoes.
If you like spicy food try this Adjika paste in your next curry or for a marinade for meat.
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Homemade Sriracha Sauce
Ingredients
- 1400g Red chillies of your choice
- 600g filtered water
- 250g granulated sugar
- 100g chopped garlic
- 65g fine sea salt
- 50g rice vinegar
Instructions
- Blend everything till smooth
- Ferment for about 10 days or until you are happy with the sourness
- Blend once more and if you want to naturally stabilise the sriracha sauce like the original. Add a teaspoon or 2 grams of xanthan gum and blend once more.
- Taste the sauce and if you want it to be more sweet, salty or sour make the adjustments accordingly.
- Everyone's ferments always turn out a bit different due to the uncontrolled nature of the process.
Notes
** If your home blender is weak like mine. The seeds won't blend. When done fermenting blend again and strain through a sieve reserving the pulp. Dry this pulp out and grind into a fine powder adding back into the sauce.
Nutrition Facts
Homemade Sriracha Sauce
Serves: 25 portions
|
Amount Per Serving: 100g
|
||
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 67.42 kcal | |
| % Daily Value* | ||
| Total Fat 0.27 g | 0.4% | |
| Saturated Fat 0.03 g | 0.2% | |
| Trans Fat 0.0 g | ||
| Cholesterol 0.0 mg | 0 | |
| Sodium 223.25 mg | 9.3% | |
| Total Carbohydrate 16.25 g | 5.4% | |
| Dietary Fiber 0.92 g | 3.7% | |
| Sugars 12.99 g | ||
| Protein 1.3 g | ||
| Vitamin A 2.99 % | Vitamin C 90.8 % | |
| Calcium 1.78 % | Iron 3.62 % | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
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DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?
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Andre
I like it real hot so used half birds eye and half Serrano peppers. First time fermenting and this was very easy to make because of the clear instructions and good info. Came out even better than than real sriracha sauce
Anna
Really great and simple recipe. It makes a fresh and lively hot sauce. I made it with red Serranos and apple cider vinegar — delicious. I will try it with jalapeños for a less spicy option. It’s nice to watch the colour deepen during the fermentation process.
Charlé Visser
Great feedback. Happy you liked it. The wonder of fermentation it's so easily adjustable!